Last weekend my husband and I decided to remove the popcorn ceiling in one of our spare bedrooms. The bedroom is empty and I am getting ready to move my appraisal office back there. I figure if I have to spend some time in there I'd like that ugly ol' popcorn off of there. Here are some tips if you want to do it yourself as we did:
1. First we recommend you have your popcorn ceiling material tested for asbestos. Check your phone directory for a local place. Popcorn ceilings installed in the 1970's and 1980's or before have a good chance of having asbestos. Asbestos that becomes airborne during removal is the most dangerous. Do a search on the web for recommendations regarding removal if you do have asbestos or hire a professional company to do it.
2. We made sure we had safety goggles, masks and clothing that could be removed and washed right away.
3. The procedure for removing the popcorn ceiling is fairly easy. WE used spray bottles, a ladder, metal drywall scraper and lots of plastic sheeting for the floor. We also had a large trash can with a heavy plastic bag and a plastic tote bin lid that would fit into the opening of the trash can. It also helps to cover your furniture well if not clearing the room.
4. My husband and I worked together..first he would spray and 2'x2' area with water. He was on the ladder and held
the lid to the bin in one hand and scraped the popcorn off onto the lid.
5. After the 2'x2' area was scraped clean -- do not scrape too hard or deeply as you do not want to damage the drywall underneath the popcorn -- I would dump the lid into the garbage can while my husband sprayed another area.
I kept the bottles full. It went quickly because he didn't have to get down from the ladder except to move it from spot to spot. The make a scraper with a long handle if you want to invest in one.
6. If you find that the popcorn doesn't come easily then you might not be wetting it enough or scraping soon enough after wetting. We found it dries quickly and had to be resprayed. If the popcorn has been painted a few times it will also be harder to remove. Ours had paint on it but only one coat so it came off very easy.
7. We only did a small 11 x 11 room. IF you are planning on doing a larger area then I recommend getting an inexpensive garden sprayer -- I saw them at Big Lots for about $9 after the fact . I don't think I'd use a sprayer that had lawn or garden chemicals in it so go with a new one. The sprayer tank holds a lot more and prevents you from having to leave the room to fill bottles and tracking through your house. I had a large bucket in the room and used it to fill the bottles.
8. After the ceiling was totally cleaned of the popcorn material we made a trip to the hardware store. We bought joint compound to fill in some of the rough areas, drywall primer, spray on orange peel texturizer and and ceiling paint. You might want to check the internet for different ways to finish off your new ceiling. Some people just paint it but it depends on what your surface looks like.
You may have to do some sanding to smooth some of the rough areas.
9. We painted the ceiling with the primer...then this weekend we sprayed the new texture and then painted it with the ceiling paint. I bought a middle grade ceiling paint that goes on pink but dries white. I highly recommend that feature so you can see where you painted last. Especially if you are painting white over white as we were. Ceiling paint is thicker than regular paint to cut down on the spray.
10. Disposal of the ceiling material was easy. We called our local garbage company here in San Jose and they told us to put it in the garbage can. Unbelievable, I know, but that is what they said.
Now we are ready to prime and paint the walls...!
The previous recommendations are based on my experience removing our popcorn ceilings and should not be substituted for professional advice. Definite care should be taken if your ceiling material does contain asbestos.
Good luck!
